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Homeless shelter

YWCA has no room for Christmas toys for homeless kids

View SlideshowRequest to buy this photoChris Russell | DISPATCHAngela Stoller-Zervas, director of the YWCA Family Center, surveys one of two outdoor storage units used to contain the overflow from the crowded center.

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Secret Santas who make sure homeless children have gifts for Christmas are being asked to skip
the toy aisles this year.

The YWCA Family Center is so crowded, officials say, there’s nary a square foot to store dolls,
remote-control cars or — heaven forbid — bicycles. The shelter is instead requesting gift cards in
$10 increments so families can do their own shopping, preferably after they move from the shelter
to housing.

But the surge in homeless families is driving all sorts of contingency plans. Shelter workers
are preparing to house about 50 families in a section of the empty building on Van Buren Drive that
is to open next spring as a new shelter for homeless men, women and families. The arrangement,
dependent on final approval by city fire inspectors, would create a temporary, dormitory-style area
that could be used until renovation work on the West Side building begins.

O’Toole said the system needs less-expensive options for handling the family overflow. The YWCA
Family Center, on Harvey Court west of Port Columbus, is designed for 50 families but lately has
been serving 130 to 140.

The Community Shelter Board, which allocates money for local homelessness services, has spent
thousands of dollars on hotels in recent years to house families when the shelter is full and they’r
e waiting to move to an apartment.

Churches and other religious congregations have been asked to house families overnight for one
week each month. And the shelter system already operates a program in which friends or relatives
are paid a stipend to allow a homeless family to stay with them instead of in the shelter.

The continued spike — family homelessness is up about 65 percent in the past three years —
appears to be continued fallout from the recession, said Sara Loken, a Shelter Board spokeswoman. “
People living in poverty are not experiencing the benefits of a recovery yet.”

About 25 percent of the homeless families are employed, up from about 22 percent the year
before, Loken said. Most, however, don’t earn enough to meet their living expenses.

O’Toole said growing numbers have been without shelter at least once before. “Only 69 percent
are new to homelessness,” she said.

At the Family Center, all available space is spoken for, and portable units are being used to
store family belongings. There isn’t room to store piles of toys, but the center still will host
its usual Christmas festivities, O’Toole said.

Precious Adams came to the Family Center with her young daughter and son. She’s 20 and feels a
weight beyond her years. “Every day, it’s back-to-back families here,” Adams said. “I’m trying to
find a job. It’s hard.”